This morning on my way to work I was passed by some @$$hole on a motorcycle. He passed so close that something on the right side of his handlebar clipped the mirror on the left side of my handlebar. I had been looking in my helmet mirror and saw him weaving in and out of traffic as he approached. He was obviously in a hurry because when he passed/clipped me he was going a bit faster than the other traffic around me. I was hoping he'd have to stop at the next light and perhaps I could catch him and have a few words but he sped through the intersection when the light changed from yellow to red. Gee, surprise, surprise!!
Does this mean I don't have to be courteous and careful of motorcyclists when I'm in my car? Perhaps you've seen their bumper stickers that say, "Look twice, save a life. Motorcycles are everywhere."
Next time I'll look twice and then pass them as close as I can. Stupid d***heads!!

__________________The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. - Psalm 103:8

I am a cyclist. I am not the fastest or the fittest. But I will get to where I'm going with a smile on my face.

This morning on my way to work I was passed by some @$$hole on a motorcycle. He passed so close that something on the right side of his handlebar clipped the mirror on the left side of my handlebar. I had been looking in my helmet mirror and saw him weaving in and out of traffic as he approached. He was obviously in a hurry because when he passed/clipped me he was going a bit faster than the other traffic around me. I was hoping he'd have to stop at the next light and perhaps I could catch him and have a few words but he sped through the intersection when the light changed from yellow to red. Gee, surprise, surprise!!
Does this mean I don't have to be courteous and careful of motorcyclists when I'm in my car? Perhaps you've seen their bumper stickers that say, "Look twice, save a life. Motorcycles are everywhere."
Next time I'll look twice and then pass them as close as I can. Stupid d***heads!!

Yeah, that sucks, and you're probably rightfully angry. But step back a minute and take fresh look at what you just wrote. Is it really fair to paint all motorcyclists with the same brush as that "Stupid d***head"?

That sounds an awful lot like an anti-cyclist rant that you might hear from any number of motorists pissed off at the behavior of an ill-mannered or clueless cyclist.

I'm not trying to defend the particular idiot in question, but as a motorcyclist, as well as a bicyclist I gotta chime in and point out that we don't *all* ride that way, and I'd prefer not to be called a "Stupid d***head", because of the way some other guy rides.

As a motorcyclist and a cyclist, I feel the need to remind everyone that there are a select few who make the rest of us look bad. My wife and I were behind a motorcyclist a few weeks ago who decided to ride a wheelie for a 100 yards on a busy street. She said one thing: "That guy makes motorcyclists look bad." No sh*t! He makes ME look bad!

The same can be said for the occassional cyclist who blows a red light or hits someone while riding on the sidewalk. He makes ME look bad.

The same can also be said for the occassional soccer mom who drives her Excursion or Volvo wagon up the curb when making a right turn. She makes MY WIFE look bad.

So, what I'm trying to say is don't paint with such a broad brush. Sure, that particular motorcyclist was and is an a$$h*le, but he's just one idiot. There are plenty out there, but not everyone.

I don't really see any connection between motorcycles and bicycles. They don't have to stay to the right, they go as fast as a car, they have insurance. Nah, bicycles are the only true bastard step children of the road. So as a bicyclist i say screw that guy and the motorcycle he rode in on.

It is great to have a place to vent about idiot drivers and motorcyce riders and pedestrians...

To be honest the motorcyclists in Chicago are pretty respectful of cyclists. They generally give me a nod as they pass in the opposite direction.

Most cyclists do not even acknowledge that another bike has gone bye. I wonder about it sometimesMaybe they think I am judging their ride or their gear or maybe I just look weird to them.

I have heard rumors of motorcycle riders reaching out to hit the handlebars of bikes they pass but I have never seen it and I have been passed quite a few times. Maybe the goofs who would do that are buisy weaving through highspeed traffic on the Dan Ryan Expressway at 110mph.

We have had a couple of spectacular motorcycle crashes lately. The City Council is considering requiring all 2 wheeled vehicle riders to wear helmets as a result of the deaths involved. Currently only messengers are required to wear helmets while working.

It was a little strong, but we know you were kidding. I apolgize for my references to bullets and vehicular manslaughter. He might kill himself though or someone else. I hope if someone dies because of that biker it is that biker. It would be very unfortunate if anyone died.

It was a little strong, but we know you were kidding. I apolgize for my references to bullets and vehicular manslaughter. He might kill himself though or someone else. I hope if someone dies because of that biker it is that biker. It would be very unfortunate if anyone died.

Yeah, but I was lacking quite a bit of ... tact last night, and in hindsight I've got a bit of housecleaning to do.

Drunken Raiyn was interesting last night for sure. Back on topic, my experience with motorcyclists around here has been pretty positive. Of course we have our Johnny hot-shot motorcyclists around here, but I've not had any run-ins with them as of yet. I do agree that not every motorcyclist is an irresponsible idiot. There are plenty of perfectly responsible riders out there that don't go around doing stupid stuff like the guy mentioned above, but the ones that get noticed are guys like HIM so our reaction is to assume that all motorcyclists are like that. Thankfully, they're not.

Bikes: Cannondale super V 500, Bianchi Piaggio(hopefully getting a new road bike when I get some money)

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I had that happen to me while riding up Palomar a while ago. Apparently Palomar is the hotspot for everyone with a leather riding suit and a high end crotch rocket. I got buzzed about 20-30 times just riding to the top. These guys were riding on the wrong side of the road, going 2-3 times faster than the posted speed limit and generally trying to get as close to suicide as possible without actually dying.

When i got to the top what do I see? About 120 motorcycles and people standing around smoking cigarettes and sucking down absurdly large quantities of beer. I'm not saying everyone there was a bad rider/driver, but there were those select few. And thats the problem, if you think about it how many motorcycles pass you while you are riding? 100? 200? and then that one guys buzzes you and he's going to be the one that you remember. One guys ruins it for everyone else, it's the same for everything. Sports, video games, anything you can think of.

I'd bet you a new set of tires that the motorcyclist in the original post does not have a motorcycle endorsement on his driver's license. When my husband went to moto-school, the instructor covered sharing the road with cyclists. He gets disgusted with the crotch-rocket riders who make it worse for everyone (and make our insurance rates go up - sheesh, insuring the bike is worse than the car).

On the other hand, RonH, we used to live outside Atlanta and my husband commuted through Decatur into the city every day. It might just have been d***head Atlanta driving behavior, compounded by motorcycle-testosterone.... I salute you for commuting in that insanity!

Maybe he was on the way to a hospital where 25 new born babies were waiting for a special blood analysis results to determine what medication to use, and babies would start dying in the next 7-10 minutes if he is not there, but then here you take side of the road on your bicycle and then foolishly generalize about all motorcyclists.